Tent construction



1366- 1938- T. c. POWERS TENT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 21, 1937 IN VENTOR 'di/LW ATTORNEY5 Patented Dec. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES TENT CONSTRUCTION Thomas Gondit Powers, Upper Darby, Pa., as-

signor to Powers and Oompany,'Philadelphia, Pa., a. corporation of Delaware Application September 21, 1937, Serial No. 164,838

Claims.

My invention relates to an improved tent construction, and particularly to strengthening and reinforcing of the tent at corners where the tension of guy ropes or other supporting ropes is transmitted to the tent proper.

I-Ieretofore a great deal of difficulty has been encountered in tents, particularly concession tents and the like, which are subjected to severe usage, in the pulling out of the corner at the in point where the guy ropes are secured to the tent.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide an improved corner construction which will strengthen and reinforce the tent at the point where the guy ropes are attached. It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved corner construction wherein the strains incident to supporting the tent will be distributed and will not all come at the extreme corners where the guy ropes are attached.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved corner construction for tents which will distribute the strains incident to supporting the tent along ropes secured to'the tent for the purpose of taking this tension.

I have illustrated my invention in preferred form in the accompanying drawing, wherein the figure illustrates the corner portion of the tent with my improvements applied thereto.

In the drawing, reference numeral I represents the sloping roof of the tent. Reference numeral 2 represents a trimming extending along the front of the tent. Reference numeral 3 indicates the end wall of the tent and 3a is a trimming at the end wall. The triangular portion 4 is the portion extending from the end wall proper to the roof.

At the edge 8 of the tent where the roof I meets the trimming 2, the canvas is folded and the tent rope 5 is sewn into this fold in such a way that the material of the tent is in tight surrounding relation to the rope, although the. rope itself is not sewn to the material of which the tent is made. At the top 9 of the end wall a similar tent rope 6 is sewn into a fold in the material, and the tent rope I is likewise sewn into a fold along the edge II), where the triangular portion 4 of the end wall meets the roof I. The tent ropes 5 and 6 extend from corner to corner of the tent, and the tent rope I extends up over the ridge pole and down to the other corner at the end of the tent. These ropes 5, 6 and I are intended to take the strain incident to the support of the tent by means of guy ropes at the corners, and thus relieve the material of the tent from any substantial strains.

Heretofore it has been the practice to run the ends of the ropes 5, 6 and l at the corners around an eyelet or through a ring to which the guy rope is secured. In this form of construction the tension on the tent comes at one place on each of the ropes 5, 6 and I, and under severe strain the corners frequently pull out, because the ropes are unable to withstand thetension. In my improved construction, I provide free end portions or extensions I'I, I8 and I2, respectively, of the ropes 5, 6 and I, which extensions are spliced into a reinforcing rope which is laced to the tent ropes proper outside of the fold in which they are enclosed. This reinforcing rope is substantially larger and stronger than the tent ropes 5, 6 and I in order to take the strain at the corner and distribute it along the tent ropes.

In the drawing, two such reinforcing ropes are shown. The first, indicated by the reference numeral II, extends along the edge II), where the roof I meets the triangular part 5 of the end wall. This rope I I is secured to the tent in the following manner: The free end portion or extension I2 of the rope I is first spliced into the end portion I 3 of the rope II, in such a way that the ends of the two ropes substantially coincide. The other end IA of the rope I I is then laced with heavy cord I9 to the outside of the fold enclosing the tent rope I. The body of the rope I4 is then likewise laced to the fold enclosing the tent rope. The lacing I9 surrounds strands of the rope I t and likewise surrounds the tent rope I. The lacing is drawn very tight so as to hold the rope I4 securely against the outside of the fold in such a way that strains or tension on the rope I4 will be transmitted to the tent rope 3 throughout the length of the rope I4. The extension of the rope "I and the end portion of the reinforcing rope II which have been spliced together, is then passed through the corner ring I5, brought back along the edge It, and likewise securely laced to the fold. If desired, instead of securing the rope II to the tent as above described, the extension of the rope 'I and end of the reinforcing rope II are spliced together, then passed through the corner ring l5, then brought back and spliced to the standing part of the rope II, and the whole then secured to the fold along the edge III in the manner described. It is important that whatever means is used to secure the rope II to the tent should hold it tightly in contact with the tent on the outside of the fold enveloping rope I, so that any strains which come on the rope II will be transmitted to the rope I along the part where the two ropes are in juxtaposition.

The extensions I1 and I8 of the tent ropes and 6 are spliced into second reinforcing rope IS in a somewhat different manner. Instead of being spliced to the end of reinforcing rope I6, extension I! is spliced into rope [6 at the center, and instead of looping back around corner ring I5, as does extension I2 of rope I, it is carried around the corner in the direction of rope 6. The extension I8 of the rope 6 is likewise spliced to the center of the reinforcing rope I6 and carried around the corner in the direction of the rope 5. This reinforcing rope I6 likewise extends through the ring I5 and after extensions I1 and I8 of ropes 5 and 6 have been spliced into it the rope I6 is secured to the edges 8 and 9 of the tent by lacing I9 in the same way the rope I I is secured to the edge I0. It will be understood, of course, that theother corners of the tent have a similar arrangement of reinforcing ropes to which the ropes along the edges of the tent are spliced.

When the tent is to be put into use, guy ropes are secured to the corner ring III, and the roof is supported by a ridge pole in the usual manner. The tension strains now involved in supporting the tent are transmitted from the guy ropes through the ring I5 to the reinforcing rope, and the ropes of the edges of the tent. The reinforcing ropes, however, take a large part of the tension which is transmitted to the other ropes throughout the length of the reinforcing rope. Thus instead of having all the strain of the support of the tent fall at one point on the ropes in the edges of the tent, it is distributed along them, and the corner is strengthened.

I have found that tents embodying my, improved corner construction will withstand much greater strain than other formsof tent known in the art, and the life of the tent. will, of course, be much greater.

It will be understood that my improved construction can be used to advantage wherever there is a tension on the corner of a tent, and, I do not limit my improvement, to use at the corner where guys are attached. In circular tents having a single center pole, for instance, the ropes in the seams of the tent could be secured to the top ring in the same manner as I have illustrated in the drawing.

I claim:

1. A tent construction comprisingwalls having intersecting edges, tent ropes sewn into folds, at the edges and coextensive with the edges into which they are sewn, the said tent ropes having extensions at their ends, a ring at the intersection of said edges through which said extensions pass, a reinforcing rope laced to. the said edges outside of said fold with the lacing surrounding the said tent ropes, said reinforcing rope also extending through said ring, the extension of the first mentioned ropes being spliced into the reinforcing rope outside of the fold whereby strain on the ring will be taken by both ropes.

2. A tent corner construction comprising tent ropes sewn into folds in walls of the tent, said tent ropes having extensions at their ends, a corner ring through which said extensions pass, a reinforcing rope also extending through said ring, the extensions on the tent ropes being spliced into the reinforcing rope outside of the fold, the reinforcing rope being laced to the outside of said tent rope with the lacing surrounding the said tent rope whereby strain on the ring will be taken by both the tent and reinforcing ropes.

3. A tent corner construction for tents having a sloping roof and end wall comprising a tent rope sewn into a fold at the eave of said roof, another tent rope sewn into a fold at the intersection of the end wall and roof, and another tent rope sewn into a fold of the end wall, each of said tent ropes having an extension at the end thereof, a corner ring through which said extensions pass, reinforcing ropes also extending through said ring, the extension of said tent ropes being spliced into the reinforcing ropes, the said reinforcing ropes being laced to the tent outside the said folds with the lacing tightly surrounding the tent ropes whereby strain on the ring will be taken by the reinforcing ropes and the tent ropes.

4. A tent corner construction comprising a. tent rope sewn into a fold of the tent and having an extending end portion, an external-reinforcing rope having a free end portion, said extension on the tent rope and free end portion of the reinforcing rope being spliced together, the spliced together portions of said ropes being laced to a fold enclosing the tent rope by means of lacing which tightly surrounds the tent rope.

5. A tent construction comprising walls having tent ropes sewn into folds along lines of tension when the tent is in use, said tent ropes having extensions at the ends thereof, a corner ring through which the said extensions pass, andreinforcing ropes into which the said extensions are spliced, the said reinforcing rope also extending through said corner ring and being securely laced to the tent rope along the outside of said folds by lacing which tightly surrounds the tent rope whereby strain on the ring will be taken by both the reinforcing and tent. ropes andstrain on the reinforcing rope transmitted to the tent rope throughout the length of the reinforcing rope.

THOMAS CONDIT POWERS. 

